Putting Out the Flame
by Mimrose
Summary: Seto contemplates his life and how they've reached this point, as he sits by Katsuya's side, spending as many moments as he can with the blond before Katsuya looses his last breath. One-Shot. Angst. Puppyshipping and Yaoi. Written for the May Prompt Exchange Challenge created by Unattainable Dreams.


**Hi all! Normally I don't do particularly sad stories, as it gives me an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach to write them, but this is an entry for the May Prompt Exchange Challenge created by ****Unattainable Dreams. I have included the link to the forum on my profile if you're interested in participating. **

**This prompt for this work is: "Light is leaving as I watch you go. Light is leaving my inside of my soul."—Stay in Shadows by Finger Eleven, sent by TogetherForever1. **

**Hope you enjoy! **

The beeping of the machines in the room were too loud, to my ears. Their measured, exact beats caused me to become agitated the longer I sat here, but nothing could pull me away from where I was.

I looked down at the frail, pale hand in my grasp. Blue veins were visible through the paper-thin skin, and I brushed my fingers gently over the back of the hand absentmindedly.

The familiar clenching in my chest roared up again as I stared into the pale face of my lover, his normally bright face now gaunt and sickly. The bones in his body were more pronounced than ever, making him appear malnourished and underfed.

I gritted my teeth. Crying would do nothing at this point. There had been tears, but they were useless. They wouldn't save him. Nothing could save him.

It's painfully ironic. Even being one of the most powerful people in the world, with almost an unlimited amount of money at my disposal and the most powerful technology in all the world, and I still couldn't save the one I loved.

There wasn't anything that I didn't try. I hired specialists, the best in their fields. I built a completely new facility with state of the art equipment. I poured myself into research, working myself into a fever and through sleepless nights.

It was all for nothing. The only thing I could do was prolong the inevitable.

Katsuya, my dear Katsuya, was going to die. And I could do nothing about it.

How could have this happened? He was healthy. He was happy. We were going to be married, and we were even thinking of adopting. Mokuba was happy to be one big family.

He is the light of my life. I could lose everything I had at this moment-my company, my money, my home-as long as I had him, it would be enough. I would give it all away just to save him. Just to see his bright and cheerful face again, and feel his strong arms around my body, hugging me in the way only he could.

It had all been a dream for me, back then. I never intended to fall in love with him, but then again, love is a feeling that sneaks up on you. Slowly, it grows. Nurtured, it blossoms.

That's how it was for Katsuya and I. Enemies would be a bit of a stretch to describe our relationship in the beginning. But, somewhere along the line of hate and love, we crossed over into the other side.

Maybe it was because of how his father treated him. How his home life was eerily similar to the background I came from. Maybe it was the bruises that started appearing more often and how I began to notice when the blond wasn't there.

We had opened up to each other. Our pasts, our souls, our mind-and our bodies. We comforted each other. And slowly, it grew into something beautiful. It healed us. The scars were still there, but I finally found someone to fill that void. I could breathe, with him around.

And now, at any moment, it could all shatter. The dream that we had both been living, would fade into a nightmare.

When we first received the news, we were confident. Confident that we could beat it, confident that we would be able to overcome it. After all that we had been through, this would have been nothing.

Then time passed. A few weeks, a few months, until it had been a few years. Both of us stubbornly holding on, but making no progress. His body deteriorated slowly, yet his mind was still so clear.

His love for me shone through his eyes, even when they were clouded over with pain. He'd hold my hand so tightly, grasping it as much as he could within his trembling fingers. The hope that was always present in his voice when we visited the doctors, or when he tried whatever new treatment was thrown in his way.

My thoughts were interrupted by light coughing, and the hand I held in my grasp trembled. Looking up, I saw his mouth trying to form words, so soft that I had to lean in towards him to hear them.

Shaking my head and placing a finger onto his mouth, I tried to tell him to save his breath. Every breath was precious to me, each one a moment longer I could have with him.

Because Katsuya was the light in my life. He was the light to my soul. Without him, I don't know if I could ever stay the same.

I was known for being a cold, ruthless CEO. I crushed all those that stood in my way, without even a second thought. I didn't care about other's emotions. They were useless to me.

Emotions were an unknown thing to me. I had been trained to think of them as a weakness, as something that should never be shown-or even felt.

But Katsuya changed all of that. His brash and opinionated nature, the way he wore his feelings on his sleeve-at the same time he turned my world upside down, yet made it all the more beautiful.

Once Katsuya was gone, I knew that I'd never feel for anyone the same feelings I had felt for him. Once he was gone, I'd lose all light in my heart, my soul. Maybe I'd retreat back into the same person I was before, and maybe I'd be even worse.

Maybe if I had never let my feelings loose, I wouldn't feel this much pain. Maybe I'd never even have to deal with this sadness. At the same time, however, I probably would have never felt the happiness and love that Katsuya gave me.

His love was worth anything and everything.

I brushed a gentle kiss over his forehead. His time was coming, I could feel it. As much as I could try to deny it, there is nothing I can do.

When he leaves, he'll take a piece of me with him. A piece of me I'll never get back. A piece of me that no one else will ever have.

I see his mouth form his final words, the "I love you, Seto…" that drifts away, carrying with it the beginning of his last breath. I lean forward and capture his last intake of air, my lips meeting his in a passionate, final kiss.


End file.
